Published: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 at 2:30 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 at 6:04 p.m.

A local murder case that took six years to come to trial will enter day three of jury selection today as the prosecution and the defense continue searching for an unbiased panel.

On Monday, 150 potential jurors were set aside to consider the case of Rishi Ramgoolie, 28, who is charged with first-degree murder in the 2008 death of his 5½-month-old cousin, Sanjana Muthra.

By the end of Tuesday, only about 30 potential jurors had officially been excused. The process will continue today at 8:30 a.m.

"I don't want this taking all week," warned Circuit Judge Edward Scott, who is presiding over the case. The final panel is expected to consist of 12 jurors and two alternates.

While neither side would talk in depth about why the case took so long to come to trial, court records indicate a few reasons: more than one change in the defense team, a hefty number of motions, and the introduction of complex medical testimony from several experts.

On Tuesday, assistant state attorneys Jennifer Kipke and Rock Hooker spent most of the day watching defense attorney Donna Kuchler of Wisconsin question potential jurors.

So far, the potential jurors know very little about the death of Sanjana, who suffered fatal head injuries after being left in Ramgoolie's care.

"What we need is for people to be completely fair and impartial," said Kuchler, who spent most of Tuesday posing questions to potential jurors. During the day, Ramgoolie, dressed in a suit and tie, sat attentively at the defense table near Tampa attorneys Lily McCarty and Maria Pavlidis.

During her questioning, Kuchler sought to learn more about the potential jurors by asking a variety of questions about their educational backgrounds, professions, the bumper stickers currently pasted on their vehicles and, in keeping with the facts of the case, their tactics on how to soothe a crying child.

She estimated the trial would likely take about three weeks, and perhaps four.

Several potential jurors expressed apprehension about serving on the panel because they had young children in their lives.

"I have a grandchild that old and it just makes me uncomfortable," one woman said. She expressed concern over viewing graphic autopsy photos that will be shown during trial.

Kuchler told the judge she wanted to show an autopsy photo during jury selection, but Scott did not allow the photo, which is not currently in evidence.

"Basically, you're trying to run them off, and I don't want that to happen," he said.

Other potential jurors said the victim's age could cloud their judgment.

"I think it would be extremely difficult to be fair," said one man, an expecting father with several nieces and nephews.

"What we're asking you members of the jury is to follow the concepts of justice that are guaranteed to all defendants," said Kuchler, reminding the panel that Ramgoolie is innocent unless the facts and evidence presented at trial prove he's guilty.

Several jurors agreed that accidents do happen and therefore, just because a child falls while under an someone's care, that doesn't mean the caregiver inflicted the injuries.

During the day the courtroom gallery filled with potential jurors. On the back benches, behind the defense table, sat Ramgoolie's parents. On the other side sat Sanjana's family, accompanied by a victim's advocate.

The trial is being held in a second-story courtroom two doors down from the murder trial of Michael Lamar Woods, 31, who is on trial for the 2007 death of Toni Centracco, 20. Opening statements in the Woods case began late Tuesday afternoon.

Woods is accused of shooting the young woman twice in the head outside an Ocala rental home during the commission of a burglary. The case had been tried in the fall but ended in a mistrial during deliberations after the foreman brought the definitions of "circumstantial" and "compromise" to court, therefore potentially tainting the jury.

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